The Baltic Opera Festival will open on July 1 and last until the 7th. The program includes Wagner’s «Die Walküre,» the premiere of Józef Beer’s «Polish Wedding,» a concert in memory of Krzysztof Penderecki, and a family picnic.
Before the festival starts, the organizers have prepared two preliminary events. On June 21 at 11:00, a family opera picnic will take place in the courtyard of the Opery Bałtyckiej.
On June 27 at 19:00, the opera «Niedźwiedź» («The Bear») by Lithuanian composer Bronius Kutavičius will be performed on the stage of Teatru Wybrzeże — a production by the Lithuanian State Musical Theatre from Klaipeda, combining a dark fairy tale, a bloody detective story, and a psychological thriller.
The festival itself, founded in 2023 by bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny, will this year take place under the motto «Mity, gusła i zabobony. Opowieści, które budują wspólnotę» («Myths, Conspiracies, and Superstitions. Stories that Build Community») — a reference to how the stories told shape national and cultural identity and organize the relationship between individuals and the community.
Konieczny, the artistic director of BOF, once returned opera performances to the open stage of the Opery Leśnej in Sopot, built in 1909 as the Nature Theatre. According to him, he believes in the potential of this authentic and unique place and wants it to be known worldwide.
The central event of the festival is Wagner’s «Die Walküre,» which will be shown on July 2 and 5 at 17:30 in the Opery Leśnej. The performance is timed to the 150th anniversary of the world premiere of the complete cycle «Der Ring des Nibelungen,» which took place in Bayreuth in August 1876.
The full program of the festival:
— Richard Wagner, «Das Rheingold,» a children’s performance (July 1, 18:00; July 2, 12:00), Opera Leśna w Sopocie;
— Richard Wagner, «Die Walküre,» opera (July 2 and 5, 17:30), Opera Leśna w Sopocie;
— Józef Beer, «Polskie Wesele,» opera (July 3 and 4, 19:00), Opera Bałtycka;
— «Muzeum człowieka. Penderecki in memoriam,» concert by the Sinfonietta Cracovia orchestra (July 6, 19:00), Opera Bałtycka;
— «Madame, kocham Panią,» recital by Anett Fritsch (July 7, 20:00), Europejskie Centrum Solidarności.
Alongside the festival, on July 6 at 14:00, an exhibition titled «Opera! 100 years of Opera Design in Gdańsk» will open at the Gdańsk Contemporary Art Center.
Details and tickets are available on the website www.balticoperafestival.pl.
